The Dream Shard
by hignum
Summary: I find it regrettable that I could not lead you on your way with my words, and you had to pass through such an ocean of grief-Tiamat- It had taken Wilhelmina decades to finally come to an understanding about herself and those around her. It was finally time to wake up from the dream and embrace tomorrow.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Foreword**

To those who had read Hunt For Power, thank you so much for bearing with me and now I redeem myself with the new story I have created. ^^ Now, it will be AGES before I update this to Chapter 2 so don't expect much because this story is still in the writing block and well, it's not finished per se. With all my assignments and final projects forcing their way through my door, yea, I won't have the time, so bear with me for that period.

NOW I GIVE YOU THE FIRST PREVIEW TO MY LATEST STORY, ENJOY! -^^-

**Chapter 1**

A pair of absent minded cobalt blue eyes gazed across the green fields before them whilst a soft breeze blew past, ruffling his soft, ruffled silver tresses. Christophe Toussaint was in a relatively good mood today, something that doesn't occur too often. His head was clear and he could enjoy the scenery, unlike the past few days which he had spent mulling about having to hunt down the ruckus producing Denizen. If only it hadn't been so weak that its presence was so difficult to sense, it was also sneaky and caused a whole lot of trouble by destroying things and sapping existence which had to be replaced with torches. Christophe admitted he hated replacing human lives with just torches, but there was nothing else he could do since he was not capable of fully restoring their lost existence. He sighed, his thoughts had strayed again to the negative things in life, not that he really had any left. He was supposed to have given it up the moment he made a contract with Heaven's Azure Hand, Celio. It was not to say that he missed his old life, he didn't really. Who would miss being a mad man. If not for his meeting the right person at the right time, he seriously would have remained mad. Now he could better himself and do something else that is, well, better than what he did before. With only a single goal of protecting the balance of the world, there are no other complications other than the fact that there are evil Denizens running amok and the organization famous for causing havoc is the Bal Masque. Christophe closed his eyes, savouring the last bits of the cool breeze before it left him, trying to empty his mind once more. Too many memories, none of them wonderful to remember.

"Thinking too much again Chris?" He looked up and saw a pair of deep red eyes staring into his, twinkling in the daylight.

"And you would know?" Those red orbs laughed at him with a merry tune.

"Of course I would, I recognized that melancholic expression from a mile away. You're not fooling anyone, what is on your mind?" Chris rolled his eyes and turned away from the pair of staring eyes.

"One would think that the Flaming Haired Blazing Eyed Hunter would have better things to do other than pestering her companion," Mathilde laughed at him.

"I _did_ have something to do, but it's finished and now I have _nothing_ to do, so yes, I will pester you if you don't mind."

Christophe sighed in defeat. "It was meant to be a rhetorical question Mathilde, not meant to be answered."

He was not surprised by the laughter that rang in the air. "I knew that, the reason I answered anyways. You always get irritated so easily, learn to laugh a little. I haven't seen you laugh before in my life, smiling yes, on occasion. Come on, laugh for me," Christophe raised a brow.

"You want to hear me laugh?" She nodded exactly the same way a child would. Christophe sighed, pulled a smile and then laughed, to which Mathilde's face suddenly scrunched up.

"That isn't even a real laugh, it sounds like the scraping of one's fingernails against the glass, and so fake."

He tossed her an evil look. "Then next time don't ask me to laugh you witch."

Mathilde huffed and then pulled a full smile on him. "Hah, like I'll give up, one of these days I'll get a laugh out of you, a real one, just you wait and see."

Sighing, Christophe got up and looked down at her. "If you can which will not happen, not likely, not ever. And the way you act is as though you never had a childhood."

"Hah, unlike you, I don't want to gain wrinkles just by frowning all the time ~ I have the better mind to smile and laugh and act young since youth is measured by the cheerfulness of one's heart ~"

The twinkling look that Mathilde gave him made him feel ill and somewhat insulted. "As though a witch like you could possibly have a heart."

Mathilde pouted. "Pig, just you wait, you won't be calling me a witch by the time I'm done with you."

"And when will you be done?" He asked, walking away from her.

Mathilde jumped up and rushed after him. "Well, let's see, I've spent three years with you already, travelling together, and now, I think it will only take a few more years, months if I'm lucky."

"Aren't you sporadic, at this rate, you'll never succeed."

"Pessimist."

"Witch."

"Warlock, when are you going to start using your actual powers instead of your sword?"

"Like I said, sporadic and I don't feel like using it so as to not reveal my true identity."

"Aren't you sneaky, why not?"

Christophe stared at her, halting their progress. "Because unlike you, my flame is not all that a unique colour and one would just think it's a normal blue flame but if I use _that_, tell me who wouldn't recognize me?"

"Everyone would," She added with a laugh. "But your powers are so beautiful, if only you could use it to do something here, it would be really pretty. It looks odd without some, well, you know," She looked about the plain green meadow.

"You find a lot of things odd Mathilde," He said with a sigh, walking onward.

"If I didn't, this world would be boring."

Christophe had no idea how long he tolerated her babbling, but he did not mind it really, after three years that is. At first he had found it rather annoying and it was no surprise that he did tell her to shut it quite often. However, after one long look at her after so long, he found it no big deal, a bonus to her sporadic characteristics. Talking, for her, was good, why, because it seemed that she understands people merely by what they say, rather than them having to actually outright say it. She was a reliable friend that way and one hundred percent trustworthy, if compared to others. Her babbling would sometimes produce something actually worth listening to, if one would take the time to actually listen. Her Denizen was also nothing short of wise, he being one of the great lords of the Crimson Realm.

"Where are we headed to this time little witch," He asked, ruffling her hair.

Mathilde pouted. "I'm not _little_ and I'm no _witch_ either, but we're heading north of here. If this map is right, there should be settlements ahead and maybe a lord's castle."

"Remind me again why we're going there?"

Mathilde sighed at that, red eyes glaring at him. "Please remember it this time since this is the third time I've told you already. We are looking for a _candidate_ for a Denizen friend of Alastor's as per a favour owed."

"I will. It's just that I thought you would be kind enough to tell me who the Denizen is."

Mathilde groaned. "You could have just asked that specifically instead of going in a roundabout circle."

Alastor laughed just then, a low timbre voice reverberating from the ruby ring she wore. "It is for the Illusionist Crown, Tiamat. She has been without a Flame Haze for too many a year and is now pining for a new one."

"I take it that the last one was a spud?" Mathilde glared at Christophe for that comment.

"Don't be mean. If it's your time to go, you go. No need to insult him or her."

Christophe smirked just then. "If that is so, then Tiamat will need someone far more skilful than the last to make up for it."

"Agreed, the Illusionist Crown did mention it." Alastor added.

"Was he male or female, her last contractor?" Mathilde asked curiously as she and Christophe trod on.

"Male."

The Flaming Hunter saw the look of surprise on her companion's face. "Why so surprised?"

"I mean, well, it's rather effeminate a skill isn't it?"

Mathilde snorted. "You're being biased."

"He's being masculine!" A new voice joined them. It sounded like that of a little boy's, coming from the blue ring on Christophe's right ring finger.

"That coming from a Denizen that sounds like an underage kid," She replied with a chuckle, even Alastor could not resist the urge to laugh.

"Take that back Omer!" Christophe rolled his eyes as the banter between his Denizen and Mathilde prolonged.

Their loud and boisterous chatter continued on until they arrived, much to Christophe's decaying tolerance for the noise. The fortunate thing was that they decided to cool it off the moment they did arrive. The streets were bustling with people going about their daily business. Christophe wondered what it would be like to be ignorant once more. Not knowing about the Crimson Realm and all that, just disappearing and dying when one's time is up. Mathilde however, had other thoughts. She scanned the crowds, looking for someone who would stand out, someone that even Tiamat would find interesting. But her eyes caught something else that stood out. She ran off, leaving Christophe to his thoughts as he too wandered about aimlessly, just watching the people. Give or take, several minutes after that, he was pounced on from behind by the same person that had ditched him for those several minutes.

"Can you pick a less painful way to get my attention?" Christophe muttered disparagingly.

"I can't, you're just a tad bit too tall for me," Mathilde replied with a laugh as she slid off his back. Only then did Christophe realize that there was something extra there. A white cloak with a large hood now billowed behind him. "Wear it, it looks good on you."

Christophe stared at the cloak a moment longer before smiling at her. "Very well, if the little witch says so," The pout that was elicited from the redhead made him laugh.

Mathilde's pout melted away in an instant. "Well, now I'm done with you, haven't I? I've made you laugh."

"Don't get cocky, this is just one time, let's see how many more times you can do it, especially when I'm having a bad day."

She managed to get her smirk to match his. "We shall see now, won't we? I for one would," She paused in mid-sentence when her eyes caught something. "Chris, turn around, looks like someone is sneaking away from there," She pointed towards the large castle, a small tiny dot of a horse riding in the distance.

"Well, it does seem odd for one to ride at that speed when there is no urgency."

"Let's go hunt out our hooded rider and see what we get since this one stands out. Besides, this place here has plenty of talented people, the reason I came here. They have pretty good fighters amongst their ranks."

Christophe sighed. "Tiamat doesn't need fighters, she needs dancers for goodness sakes. It's obviously not a man she's looking for."

Mathilde pouted as she and Christophe tried to catch up to their mysterious rider. "Whoever said fighters had to be men! Look at me!"

"You're abnormal, and a witch," Celio laughed at the comment.

"Pig, hurry up or we'll lose the guy."

"She just said guy!" Celio added with a triumphant laugh, much to Mathilde's growing irritation with the childlike voice of his.

"Hush, we're near," Mathilde scolded in a harsh whisper. Celio's laughter died down as they approached the rider. Hiding behind a large group of shrubbery, they watched silently.

"Now what," Mathilde poked Christophe upon hearing his query.

"Stop asking stupid questions, we wait and see if this guy or girl is interesting enough to be worth considering as a candidate. Plus, Tiamat wants someone spirited, not power hungry."

"A power hungry Flame Haze is not likely to be born unless a smartass Denizen decides he wants to try it. But honestly speaking, none of them are hardly stupid enough to act like smartasses since they won't have control over the Flame Haze, the reason they prefer their current standing of eat when I please with humans as the main course," Celio replied sarcastically.

"You're one noisy midget."

Celio huffed angrily. "Who you calling midget you witch?" He gritted out.

"Hush Celio, I think he's doing something," The Denizen remained silent at the order of his contractor.

The mysterious rider pulled out an arrow from the quiver at the side of the saddle and stringed up his bow. For several long moments, the rider remained that way. He then released the bow string, the arrow flying into a tree quite a distance away as something fell from it. Mathilde and Christophe chased the rider as he rode off in that direction, hiding behind bushes and trees to mask their presence. They watched their mysterious rider jump off the horse and grab the fallen item.

"Indeed, this activity certainly outdoes my sister's chatter over men," A soft voice spoke, the fallen item, an apple, being tossed about in the other hand. "Unfortunately, if I hunt a deer and come back bloody, they will reprimand me for it, again."

"I knew it was a girl," Mathilde said joyously in a hushed tone.

"Sure you did, witch," Celio commented sarcastically. Mathilde glared at the blue ring.

"Stop it you two," Christophe gritted out. "It's getting too noisy to hear what she's muttering about."

Just then, she pulled the hood off, revealing the delicate features of their target. Her pink tresses were tied up in a neat bun as a tiara sat elegantly at the crown of her head. Her bright red eyes glared at the apple in her hand as she bit into it with a vengeance. She trotted back to her mount to pull a book out from the saddle bag and settled herself comfortably against a nearby tree.

"She really sounds irritated," Mathilde said bluntly.

"Stop saying the obvious. The important thing we should note now is that she is not suitable."

"Why not," Those shocked red orbs stared into his own blue ones.

"The tiara is a sign of royalty. No one would give up their lavish life for a life like ours."

Mathilde considered the statement for a moment. "But we won't know if we don't ask."

Christophe paled. "You're not serious about the asking part, are you?"

"Well, we could infiltrate the palace, get to know our target better and then decide if she's a good candidate," The stare she was being given was not the least bit comfortable, if awkward. "Besides, it'll be fun, so no harm in trying her out, is there?"

"Alastor, talk some sense into this woman."

"Hmm, there is reasonable argument in both options. What do you think Celio?"

"Well, I would usually agree with Christophe, but in this situation of picking candidates, I see no reason why we cannot stick around. Perhaps we may even find others more suitable than this young lady in the future time we remain here."

Mathilde produced a cat-like smile. "Good choice, and to think even the midget can say such wise things."

"Who are you calling a midget?" The Denizen had quite forgotten that they were not the only ones there.

"Who's there?"

"Oops," Celio realized his err.

"Too late for that now," Christophe muttered.

"Run!" Mathilde grabbed Christophe's arm as they made a dash for it. They stopped when they were sure the other girl wouldn't catch up to them. "Wow! That was fun, let's do it again."

"Alastor, what kind of person did you pick as a contractor? She's insane," Christophe muttered exasperatedly, panting heavily from the running.

"I have no comment on that matter," Mathilde laughed haughtily at hearing Alastor's answer.

"Comes to show how great I am, ne?" Christophe rolled his eyes in irritation.

"She's got an ego the size of her, you know what," Her expression turned deadly at Celio's random comment.

"You're one perverted little midget, aren't you," Celio could only laugh nervously at that.

"I didn't think you'd understand my meaning."

"Pity, I do understand."

"All the more is the pity," Christophe wondered how he ever came across such acquaintances, but he wasn't complaining, not really.

"What are we to do now? If we're going to infiltrate the castle, we'd best do it before nightfall."

"Point taken, so, I can be a maid and Christophe can be a man wanting to join the army's ranks. You'd fit in nicely."

"You as a maid... Doesn't that sound nice? Maid Mathilde, or witch maid, or maid Omer, which one sounds nicer Chris?"

"You'd best stop while you're ahead Celio," Mathilde warned.

"I will go and sign up now. You'd best make your request to join as well," The Flaming Hunter nodded in agreement before they parted ways.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the absolutely long wait, was hit by this huge wall called writer's block. Unsatisfied with how the story was flowing I deleted everything from Chapter 2 onwards and restarted again. I hope this is of decent quality though I really did try. I got my drive back and I really think it was a good idea for letting it sit a bit because now I got more ideas on how it should go and refreshing my knowledge on all the terminologies and conditions allowed me to make the story more realistic and stuck to the world in which it is based in. I hope you will continue to read this story and enjoy all that I have created for you ~ Hignum out!

**Chapter 2**

Christophe waited by the stables for their female rider to come back. Hidden in the shadows thrown by the moonlight, he watched out for her. Eventually she did come, her hood up, riding her mount at a swift pace. She dismounted smoothly as soon as she reached the stables. With quick hands she removed the saddle and shoved it into the hay nearby. Grabbing her satchel, the quiver of arrows and her bow, she entered the building from the back and disappeared from sight. Christophe silently followed, making sure not to alert her to his presence. He noted she went upstairs, so he left it at that and slipped into the ballroom where a party was taking place. Their plans of joining the ranks of the servants or soldiers in the castle were blown up because everyone else was busy preparing for this evening's celebration, a pre-wedding party for one of the princesses. Mathilde had decided to switch tactics, sneaking into the party instead as one of the guests, Christophe posing as her escort.

"So, where is she now?" Mathilde asked as he approached.

"She's gone upstairs. I think she only managed to sneak out today was due to the bustle and hustle of the preparations. If my guess is right, she'll be down sooner or later to join the party group," His female companion nodded in agreement as she linked her arm in his, guiding him across the ballroom.

"Well, if we walk a bit, we may be able to spot her and maybe some other candidates as well."

"True. With so many entrances into the ballroom, counting the main doors, it is a bit difficult to tell where she will be coming from."

"No need to worry, when she comes she'll come. By the way, did I mention how nice you look in finery?" Christophe raised a brow.

"No, but you look better in it than I do."

"How humble," She replied with a cat-like smile. Christophe wore the standard black, his silver hair left in its ruffled style. Mathilde wore a simple pale green evening gown, one that was not too puffy, to go with her red hair and fair complexion.

"Honestly speaking, one cannot possibly be more humble than it is considering the fact that these clothes were bought last minute from who knows where," Celio muttered. "Not like one had much choice in clothing for that matter."

"Point taken, I do wish for a better gown than this, and it's still too puffy. I hate the fashion these days. I prefer my own clothes to this," Mathilde grumbled.

"You mean those rags?"

"Stow it midget and they are not rags."

"They look like 'em," He mumbled.

"I heard that."

"Witch, any normal person couldn't have possibly heard me."

"Stow it you two. We're not here to start a shout fest," Christophe intervened. Mathilde glared at the ring on his finger.

"I'll get even midget, just you wait," Celio merely snorted at the retort.

Honestly, when was there ever a time that Celio and Mathilde did not fight? And if Mathilde were not fighting with Celio, she'd be bothering him instead. He'd be damned if anyone ever told him that he ought to marry Mathilde, God bless him. His eyes wandered across the ballroom, catching sight of several people who may or may not fit the bill Tiamat had laid out for them. All of them, men and women dressed in finery, minus the servants, it was hard to tell which had the better character.

"I see someone interesting. I will see you later Christophe and let me know once you've found our princess candidate," Mathilde left him to his own devices. He watched her smoothly saunter over to a man at the other end of the ballroom. He was not too bad looking, by his count, but as for personality and character he would have to wait until Mathilde returned before he would know.

Turning his attention back to the huge throng of people, he kept an eye out for the roguish princess they saw earlier in the day. However, his search was never meant to be made easy, not only because she was hard to spot but also because people kept stopping his advancement to talk to him. Majority of this happened to be female, looking either for a one night stand or to ask him to dance. Some of these majority women are matchmaking mamas searching for an eligible man to marry their daughters. Now, the other people who stopped him were either matchmaking papas or men who were merely interested in making his acquaintance either sincerely or to find out how deep his pocket is. As a Flame Haze, they didn't really have a pocket, but they do have money, something easily duplicated for them, not that they really had to earn it anyways. That piece of paper or coin had no meaning for them since their real agenda was to preserve the world's balance, not buy over the largest chunk of land and rule over it. In this case, money meant a social standing amongst these people, something that did not surprise Christophe since he knew of such a thing. Being a soldier in his past, he had no social standing, but he knew everything about the political games these nobles play. Obviously the most richest and most intelligent were the ones with power.

He was fast getting tired of this group of people and Mathilde had not yet returned to his side, a sign that she was on a roll while he was running on gravel. Moving to the edge of the ballroom, he sidled himself against the walls and walked along it. It was more comfortable, not so stuffed with people and he could make a dash for the door if another mama came along to try and introduce him to her daughter. He raised his head slightly to look out for Mathilde and spotted her on the dance floor, enjoying herself. Some kind of friend she was, ditching him for someone more handsome and richer. Now that seriously rubbed him the wrong way, so he pushed the thought aside. Besides, Mathilde was not the kind to actually dally with men like that and Alastor would put a stop to it if it were not in his interests as her Denizen.

"Thinking too much again?" Christophe raised a brow at Celio's comment.

"You're starting to sound like Mathilde."

Celio snorted. "Not likely to happen, ever. Focus Christophe, we're not here to dally with loose thoughts or pessimism for that matter and I know you have a lot of the latter due to your past. Social standings are of no importance to us, humans are humans and as Flame Haze and Denizen, we are their protectors. There is no status for us."

Christophe absentmindedly nodded at the statement. "I understand, but some thoughts just pervade. It will not distract me for too long so there is not actual need for worry, just mere contemplation."

"Good to know."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

She despised crowds and she despised her brother for making her show up. It was not her wedding anyways, not that she was not happy for her sister. She just did not like it when people gather in large groups like this. What more, she was usually the wallflower at these kind of events. She was always not pretty enough or her eyes were too red or her dress not up to par. So what, she didn't like the current fashion, it was stuffy, just like the crowds. So she stuck to her own wardrobe and sew her own gowns, big deal. Nobles were just so discriminative. If one was not good enough to fit their bill, one would not be able to fit it at all. Being the youngest of seven siblings, Wilhelmina did not actually feel the need to rush herself to do things her siblings did, nor did she feel the need to dress up overly nicely for men she did not like or men she did not know, except when her eldest brother enforces it. Even if she did dress up, other people would not even spare her a second glance if compared to her sisters. Alexander Godfried, being the eldest son, had no choice and was, for his whole life, been doomed to take over the moment mother and father retired from the throne, something they did rather early in life when they were caught in an accident that had both their parents killed. At the age of eighteen, Alexander was already ruler and he had been so up until now, currently at the age of five and forty. Second was her eldest sister, Evelien, forty, was already happily married and with children. She was the only one happily married. Alexander had already divorced twice, his wives having cheated on him behind his back. Not many people understood Alexander because of his personality, being the eldest and ruler he had to be like that, so one could not blame him for being the way he is. Her brother was not evil, just hard to talk to.

Third was Reinier and fourth was Frederik, thirty-six and thirty-two respectively, both are yet to be married. Women liked Reinier for his sweet and gentlemanly behaviour, but he held back due to not having found the right girl yet. Frederik on the other hand was a rogue and a rake. He would bewitch any woman on sight and take her to his bed with no promises and by dawn he would be gone. He flitted about like the wind, with no strings attached and had remained so for quite some time already. Fifth was Anneliese and sixth was Daphne, twenty-nine and twenty-six respectively. Tonight was Daphne's pre wedding party, having beaten her older sister, Anneliese, to the punch. While Evelien was sweet, Anneliese was dainty and Daphne was a tomboy. It was hard for men to approach Daphne because of this but someone had, eventually, and Daphne liked what she saw. Anneliese, she was, one would not really know how to describe this sister of hers. She was nit-picky, squeamish, high-handed and whole long list but in front of men, she was like a sweet and demure lady. Being the closest in age to her, Wilhelmina at twenty-four, shared a lot with Daphne and both enjoyed doing the same things like riding, hunting and thrill seeking. On occasion they would sit down and enjoy reading the same book together or like one of those rare days, Daphne would not mind hanging about Wilhelmina as she sew, the only thing Daphne did not like to take part in often. Other than that, they would get into messes and then learn to clean it up, either literally or figuratively.

Wilhelmina sighed as she watched Daphne and her fiancée have their fun. She would go and look for Evelien, someone to talk to at least, but her eldest sister would probably be too busy entertaining the guests with Alexander to be of much company for long. And thus, she was stuck to the side of the wall, forever, alone. Daphne was leaving, that was a painful reality, just the same as when their sweet and motherly Evelien left them. She wondered when Anneliese would leave, that being _if_ she _ever_ left. Wilhelmina felt like leaving too and get away from everything just like her beloved sisters, and live her own life the way she wanted to. The idea of marriage seemed rather bleak to her at the moment since all men did was avoid her since Anneliese was still here and still single. She was the final option as and when Anneliese finally got herself tied to a man. She wondered how long that would be. She did hear rumours that her sister may actually be seeing someone, but rumours were rumours and so long as Anneliese does not have a wedding band on her finger, she was doomed to wait and surely by that time, all the good men would have been taken. It's not like she didn't try to catch a man, as Daphne so casually put it, but they just didn't want to let her catch them and she was not about to play their little dallying games and wind up naked in someone's bed. At the rate she and Anneliese were going, they were going to be permanent spinsters, for real, something Alexander would not be too pleased about.

The ballroom was getting to be a boring place to be and Wilhelmina had a mind to ride back out, despite the fact that it was pitch black outside. It was rather thrilling now that she thought of it. Maybe she should sneak out later to make up for this boring event. On second thought, why not sneak out now? She shot a glance at Alexander and saw him looking at her, a clear sign that he was watching and would be sure to catch her should she decide to make a run for it. Her brother knew her too well, her reasons for wanting out, but ever since the last escape attempt that almost got her neck broken due to falling off her horse he'd taken precautions and set Reinier and Frederik on her as well. Wilhelmina gloomily walked alongside the wall, in hopes of entertaining herself with some more interesting thoughts of the book she read today or how boring it had seemed without Daphne's usual loud and boisterous chatter. Not paying attention on where she was walking, considering that there was less people near the wall, Wilhelmina took for granted that there was no one else walking by it other than herself and bumped into someone.

"Pardon me," She quickly said in apology, looking up into a pair of dark blue eyes belonging to a tall man, a very tall man.

"Ah, not an issue, please be careful in future," He replied with a small smile. He had a thin upper lip but a very thick lower lip. It looked much like a fruit someone would eat.

Catching herself halfway, she snapped her gaze to his chest, which was rather broad. She shook herself lightly, reminding herself that she had remained silent for too long. "Yes, of course," She replied rather dizzily.

She had never seen anyone like the person that stood before her, what more with silver hair. His eyes were a dark shade of blue, odd that it should be that sort of colour but it seemed rather attractive against his fair skin and pale coloured hair.

"Would you care to dance milady, that is if you are not already taken," She snapped her eyes up to meet his questioning gaze. No one had ever asked her to dance, rarely, but he was. Well, it was not like she had anything better to do anyways, plus, he was rather dashing and she would only ever admit that to herself.

"Yes, indeed I would like to," She realized she had no idea who he was and she had never seen him before. Was he the son of a Duke, Earl, Marquis, Viscount or Baron? He could be related to one of those ranks as well, but did that really matter? Surely a man with such good looks must have a good background, one that Alexander would easily allow her to marry. "Indeed I know not your name."

He smiled softly and took her hand in his, lightly pressing his lips to the back of her hand in polite gesture. She felt the warmth of his lips as it touched her skin and felt her cheeks burn. "My name is Christophe Toussaint. So, what is your name?" He threw the same question back at her as he slowly raised his head from her hand which he firmly placed upon his arm as he guided her onto the dance floor.

"Wilhelmina Godfried and yes, I am indeed related to the lady who hosts this party, my sister Daphne," She replied, following his lead as he placed his hand on her waist and began to guide her in a slow waltz.

"I see, I am afraid I am not too familiar with most of the guests here," He knew no one? Was he a newcomer to the town? "I have just arrived today and yet I find myself thrown amongst people which I find rather stifling. It reminds me of the fields of war where men rub shoulder to shoulder fighting alongside the other as we lay waste to the enemy."

"Are you indeed a soldier?" She asked, deeply curious about him as he spoke.

"Yes, I was, past tense, but I would still consider myself a soldier of sorts. I fought for the French army for the things that were not exactly worth fighting for."

"Then what indeed would you deem worth the fight?"

His blank gaze suddenly grew soft and thoughtful as he twirled her in his arms and pulled her close as the dance continued on. "I believe it would be worth fighting for the people you love. If there are people that you treasure, surely they are worth fighting for," He smiled at her then, a soft gentle smiled that she doubted he showed to others.

Christophe had stunned himself silly. He had never spoken of such things before, not even to Mathilde but he had spoken of it to her, to Wilhelmina. He snapped his gaze away from her face, not fully understanding what was going on with him. He had asked her to dance to find out more about her and here now she was finding out more about him instead. He found himself gazing at her again, noticing the things he had not noticed earlier in the forest. Those eyes seemed a tad bit too red, almost the same colour as Mathilde's fiery red eyes which, as Celio put, makes her look like a demon when in the dark. Her skin was fair and her hair was a pale shade of pink, an odd colour for sure.

"So, what do you think ought to be worth the fight, Miss Godfried?" He asked, trying to avert the conversation from being about him for he believed he had revealed far more than he had intended.

He caught her stunned expression, clearly not expecting the question at all. He watched her take on a thoughtful look, her lips slightly pressed together as though heavy in thought. "Do not, indeed, think it odd of me, but I believe it would be worth the fight for the benefit of others," His blank gaze at her answer troubled her greatly. Had she said something not suitable? Was he disappointed?

"Certainly an odd answer, from a lady such as yourself no less. For the benefit of others you say, at what cost? Say, should the purpose be not of a noble cause, would you fight for that benefit? It is an ill fitting ideal to fight for, what most would say, the good benefit of others for without a doubt, it is but the most impossible task to suit everyone. The question now is, what is your purpose milady?" She felt her heart race, unsure of what to say. His gaze had become cold and calculative and she felt pressured. Was her answer too naive? Was her thinking itself too naive?

Christophe stopped himself a moment, halted his entire prejudicial thought process. He had been too harsh to suddenly ask her to answer such questions, to say such things even for she has not suffered as he has and she does not deserve to have such burdens upon her.

"Forgive me milady, I did not mean to force my opinions upon you," He did not expect her to cut him midway, but he let her.

"My purpose is an unknown cause to me milord. I wish to seek it out away from here for I believe it is not here. I want to go away and though I will miss my family and my home, I want nothing more than to leave here. I feel, indeed, as though I am a caged bird, trapped with never ending daily life with the same constant. Would it be the oddest of things to wish, indeed, that I could have some inconsistencies with my life?" She felt herself trying to catch her breath after blurting out everything. She had been dying to say it to Evelyn, to Alexander, to any one of her siblings all that she had just said to Christophe.

Christophe felt her red eyes gaze at him, longingly as if urging him to take her away but he had no right to do so. He would have to disappoint her. However, he had never expected her to say such a thing, someone so prim like herself to say such things.

"No, I suppose not. I doubt life is constant in the first place," Just then, the dance ended. Christophe released her hand and allowed them space to bow to each other.

"Christophe, there you are! Gosh, I was looking all over the place for you!" He felt Mathilde grab his arm and pull him. He straightened himself and saw the semi shocked expression on Wilhelmina's face.

"Allow me to introduce you to my charge, Mathilde Saint Omer," Two pairs of red eyes met each other for the first time, Mathilde beaming widely and Wilhelmina wearing a blank expression as if glass had just shattered before her.

"Indeed it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Omer," She politely replied. Christophe had someone, no wonder he spoke as he did and with such conviction no less.

"A pleasure to meet you as well miss," Mathilde came up short, not knowing the name of the person standing before her.

"Wilhelmina Godfried," Christophe finished for his companion.

"Yes, nice to meet you," Mathilde beamed so wide and it seemed so completely harmless that it was hard not to smile back despite the fact that she felt shattered, just like glass, and here she thought she had found someone to take her away.

"I am afraid I must take my leave. Perhaps we shall meet again?" Christophe asked politely, smiling wanly.

"Indeed, perhaps we shall." She replied out of politeness more than anything. She offered one more curtsy and departed from their presence. She felt the world caving around her again as she moved back against the wall. "Why indeed was the dance so short?" She muttered to herself, silently creeping out of the room and into the hallway, sparing Christophe and Mathilde one last glance and then turned away, closing the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the long wait, was struggling with my new homework and making time to continue writing this. I am slowly progressing into a better story streamline and I hope this part is filling enough. Please give me some feedback!

**Chapter 3**

Water stretched out to all sides as though there were no end, the sky was painted blue with shades of red, orange and yellow, like the morning sky at sunrise. Wilhelmina found herself standing in the middle of it, the water rippling beneath her feet. Before her stood a beautiful lady, more than she could express in words. She had long hair that neatly fell about her shoulders and was the colour of the palest kind of pink possible that seemed to glow and her eyes were deepest purple, it was mesmerizing just looking at her. Her face had markings the same colour as her hair and it stood out against her fair skin. She was wearing white, pearl white, and there was something that looked like a serpent's tail sticking out of the water, elegantly poised behind her, all white with similar colour markings on it as well. Overall, she looked surreal and very ethereal like, her posture, her carefully placed hands, her placid expression, so much so that Wilhelmina found herself completely stumped for words.

"What is it that you wish?" The monotone voice of the ethereal being before her snapped Wilhelmina from her daze, the question itself being extremely direct, straightforward and no bending to anything, just a simple question yet it meant a great many things.

Wilhelmina pondered the question and she was not one-hundred percent sure she wanted to answer the question. Why should she, what would she obtain, her wish? Not likely, she was not so naive as to think so. Was she so wishful thinking as to hope for anything at this point of time? What was the woman before her questioning her for? Perhaps saying something would be better than remaining silent if to perhaps further ascertain her situation.

"Who, indeed, are you in the first place to pose such a personal question to me?" Perhaps that came out a tad bit too arrogantly, but she was a princess yet this person was far more ethereal than her and that would imply more decorum and politeness, no? Had she made a mistake and worded her sentence in too prideful a manner?

"I am The Illusionist Crown, Tiamat. I am a Crimson Lord, a being from the Crimson Realm," Wilhelmina was once again stunned by the absolute directness of this person. Nothing more, nothing less than what is necessary information to be given, literally all that she was, but nothing more than what Wilhelmina had asked. Now the other question was, what on earth is a Crimson Lord and the names she had never heard of before.

"What is a Crimson Lord and what is this Crimson Realm that you speak of? Indeed, I hope you did not expect to say such things and then expect me to understand them?" She was only a little more than slightly irritated, perhaps more than she would admit.

"Answers of which will come later," Wilhelmina was about to cut in angrily at that but was stopped when Tiamat continued. "What I offer you is simple, if you wish for freedom, I can grant it to you, if you wish for power, revenge, justice, eternal life and or to befall judgement, I can grant you all this should you wish it. You need only agree to an eternal contract to me and fight an eternal war as my Flame Haze and relinquish your life as a princess, your existence as Wilhelmina Godfried," A new term she had no idea what it meant but she knew she strongly wished for several of which was mentioned by Tiamat.

Wilhelmina would never admit it to anyone, but she was selfish, something Evelyn had always said was a bad trait of hers. She felt at the verge of tears when thinking of her eldest sister but shook them aside, if she wanted liberation, she could take it now and never look back. She had a choice of leaving fate to swallow her up whole and just submit herself to the Lord above but she now had the choice of continuing on. To fight an eternal war, was that worth the freedom she sought, to lose her life as a princess? There was so many things that could entail and yet she didn't care to want to ask considering that Tiamat probably wouldn't give her a full answer other than what was necessary, keeping it simple short and to the point. She was too naive in thinking that it would be a free wish granted without a price to pay for it in the first place. Still, would she accept it, assuming she would only be offered it once?

"Very well, I will accept your offer."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Fire burned everywhere, the wooden banisters and ceiling panels were coming down. What had started out as a fine day for a wedding had turned into a mad nightmare. Right before everyone's eyes the priest was eaten by a huge worm that burst through the ground and he dissipated in a flash of blue flames, the bride and groom following suit in a similar manner. The eldest brother who had reacted along with those nearby also shared their predecessors' fate. The remaining men and women screamed and ran but the royal family in the front row suffered the most loss, the two elder women getting caught along with two younger children. The two elder brothers tried to brave the beast but could not avoid disappearing as well. All was left was the youngest who had fainted and Christophe now found himself cradling her while he watched Mathilde fight off the Crimson Lord that had just devoured all of her family and half of the guests. Had they arrived earlier this would not have happened and the situation could be further salvaged but they had decided to leave later. There was nothing they could do about that now.

Mathilde, although not having problems with the Crimson Lord was still taking her time and it was beginning to irritate Christophe because more were coming as they knew there were Flame Haze here now and that would and may force Christophe to fight despite his disadvantage in protecting his charge. It may have ruined their plans for further searching for candidates in this country but Christophe had no doubt it would be better to search elsewhere anyways.

"Omer, enough playing around," Christophe yelled. "He has called for reinforcements and they are headed this way!"

"What, seriously," Was her tone just slightly cheerful just then?

"Are you insane? I cannot fight and protect her at the same time, stop being foolish!" He yelled angrily.

"He is right there is no time for foolishness. Enough dallying with the enemy," Alastor advised his contractor.

"Alright," Mathilde grumpily agreed. "Knights, Lance Charge!" A squadron of knights appeared at her call and then charged forward, crashing straight into the Denizen, swarming him and then trampling over him before crashing into the wall and breaking it open for their escape, the main door having been barred with banisters and fire.

"Another show of complete force and brutality, can you absolutely do nothing with the grace of a lady?" Celio commented loudly.

"At least I got the job done, who cares?" If he could roll his eyes, Celio would and perhaps maybe Alastor as well, in his point of view anyways. Christophe ignored them both and walked past Mathilde, the young princess cradled in his arms and walked out from the burning down church.

"She is the last remaining royal. Despite my opinions that she may not be suitable due to character, Crimson Lords pick contractors based on certain criteria's, Alastor should know this as well," He said off-hand as he walked out, Mathilde following behind.

"Really, there are criteria's? I never realized," Mathilde said in surprise.

"Yes, there are. The vessel must have a great existence in this world, thus being a human with great importance so much so that it would create an impact amongst his human peers," Alastor explained. "You are one such person being the daughter of a Scottish Laird."

"Thus explaining her unruly behaviour, Scots alike," Christophe muttered.

"Heh, you are a Scot's daughter, Christophe is the son of a late Duke, making him Duke himself," Celio boasted with a laugh.

Mathilde pouted at that. "So what, Wilhelmina beats us both, she's a princess, absolute royalty!"

"Thus the best container, slash, contractor for Tiamat, completely ignoring her personality," Celio stated.

"This, as a fact, is inevitably true," Alastor added with sad conviction.

"So attitude matters not, just the suitability of the container, the amount of existence contained, correct?" Mathilde stated clearly with an odd frown on her face.

"Yes," Replied her contracted Crimson Lord.

"How come you know this so well Christophe?" Her sudden question directed at him put him at a long pause as he contemplated his answer.

"It was told to me, one of the many truths told to me by the Four Gods Of The Earth during the time I spent with them," Mathilde's jaw hung low at his answer.

"You were with the legendary Four Gods Of The Earth?"

"Yes, we were with them, for a great many years at that," Celio boasted with an obvious beam in his voice.

"It is a great honour indeed," Alastor added, just as surprised as his contractor by this new bit of information.

"How come you never told us this? I mean, did they teach you anything? What am I saying, of course they did otherwise what would be the point, but why didn't you say anything?" Mathilde being Mathilde just spilled out another few questions, one of them which she answered herself. Christophe felt like laughing at her childish behaviour were he in the right mood for it.

"I do not deem it important to brag about my life or my past or the people whom I spend my time with for I do not care about such things, unlike Celio who finds it a greatness to be able to boast of almost anything and everything," If only Christophe could see Mathilde's most unladylike pout just then.

"Fine, be that way you evil, cold-hearted and pathetic excuse of a man!" Her retort was simply so childish that Celio burst out laughing.

"Witch, if you want to insult do it with a little more decorum and pride and minus off the childish tantrum that was injected into it," Celio somewhat advised in between gusts of laughter. Whether such advice should be followed is to be questioned.

Suddenly, Celio was silent and Mathilde watched as Christophe pause in step, stopping to stand beside him, her frown becoming deeper and more concerned. "Omer, you may just get that slaughter fest you wanted," Celio muttered, sensing a large amount of Denizens headed their way.

"I would have thought they would have retreated at the sign of their leader's death," Alastor added. "But it seems that I have been proven wrong."

"It's alright to be wrong sometimes," Mathilde assured him.

"Just like yourself is it Omer? Oh wait, you're almost _always_ wrong anyways," Celio laughed despite their situation, still finding the time to make fun of her.

"Almost always!" She retorted, calling her sword and shield to her hand. Just as she was about to charge off in the direction of the approaching enemy, she stopped when she heard Celio gasp loudly.

"She's just made a contract!" Celio yelled in surprise.

"The tiara," Christophe muttered.

"Greetings," Came a monotonous female voice.

"Good heavens, to the completely direct and blunt Tiamat!" Celio exclaimed further.

"This has become an even graver situation. If she has made a contract she cannot be allowed to be harmed because she is defenceless at this point in time!" Christophe said in alarm. They had not even noticed or realized she was in the process of making a contract. Done in an alternative method, Christophe supposed, not an uncommon thing for Crimson Lords to enter the mind and make their presence known.

"He is right. Mathilde, we will hold out here. Christophe, I highly suggest that you leave in advance," Alastor added instantly in correspondence to their new situation.

"We will meet you later then," Mathilde continued, gazing at the still sleeping Wilhelmina.

"Wise choice," Tiamat added.

Christophe merely nodded before gripping Wilhelmina more tightly and then running in the opposite direction towards the forest. He had no idea where he was headed but anywhere was better than here and so long as Mathilde kept them occupied, he will not be chased after.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Wilhelmina felt extremely uncomfortable. The last thing she remembered was taking Tiamat's hand and then catching on fire, despite it not actually burning her, a great flash of light and now she had absolutely no idea where she was. One thing was for certain, her head was throbbing and she was still filled with a mad rage within her. She opened her eyes too quickly at that thought and was blinded by more light, forcing her to shut them again and cover them with her hands.

"Awake," That same voice, it was surely Tiamat's.

"Well, well, good morning sunshine, sorry to rob you of revenge but we cannot afford to wait around while you are still newly contracted and unconscious. You will have to find another way to satisfy your anger," A child-like voice spoke in a somewhat arrogant fashion.

"What indeed do you mean?" Wilhelmina had not intended to yell it out but she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, her chest twisting in pain and anguish.

"Do not further agitate her Celio. Though we are clear of danger for now, it is better to explain the details later," So the earlier voice was named Celio and this voice was familiar to her ears. She blinked hard, pushing back her tears in order to see her surroundings. She looked up and confirmed her thoughts, it was Christophe who carried her and they were in the middle of the forest but no sign of the voice named Celio or Tiamat. "If you are able, it is best that you run as well," Figuring it was a good chance to get back and kill that thing, she jumped out of his arms when he stopped and tried to run back in the direction from which they came from.

"Oi, where the hell do you think you're going?" Celio yelled, Christophe momentarily stunned by her sudden action. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him.

"Unhand me!" She struggled to release herself from his firm grip.

"You cannot go back! There is nothing left for you there!" Christophe tried to reason. "Even if you wanted revenge and to kill the Crimson Lord who had eaten your family and people, you have nothing in your arsenal to fight with and being newly contracted, you have no use of your flame!"

Wilhelmina stopped struggling just then. If she had no power to fight, what the hell did she just agree to? What did revenge mean if she could not take the life of the wrongdoer by herself? She was tugged roughly around to face Christophe, tears flowing down her pale cheeks. Her red eyes seemed almost dull now, her lips parted as though she wanted to scream. Christophe hugged her and then felt her shake uncontrollably and heard her soft silent sobs into his chest. She didn't care anymore and her curiosity could go to hell itself. She had just lost everything and now she's made a contract to fight when she didn't know how to fight and what more in a war she had no knowledge about.

"I don't figure she's used to being extremely angry over anything before, or overly violent," Celio muttered.

"Kind hearted," Tiamat added.

"Pull yourself together. We are not out of danger yet. When we are, I promise you, you may cry as much as you wish," Christophe said softly as he stroked her hair that was now in a tangled mess. He pulled her away from his chest and wiped away her tears. "Calm yourself and keep your mind empty, think of nothing but running for now," He was right, there was no point in crying now, one simply just had to be strong and bull through everything that came your way, the thing that Daphne often told her. The only thing was that this was often said whenever Daphne was trying to get away with doing something stupid and claiming that it was alright with it being a challenge, albeit a stupid thing to do.

"Oh bullocks," Celio suddenly muttered. The Crimson Lord that Mathilde's Knights had supposed to have run over had burst through the ground and was now standing before them. "Tough cookie ain't ya?" Celio asked bitterly.

"Did you think it would be so easy to be rid of me?" Asked the large worm that stood before them. Wilhelmina could barely believe it, this worm looking thing killed her family and people. It was large and it looked disgusting, an ugly shade of red with black teeth.

"That must have felt like a _great_ insult didn't it Lithe Worm, Olgoi-Khorkoi?" Wilhelmina felt disgusted by the name put forth by Celio who did not fail to accentuate the word _great_ in good show of his sarcasm.

Olgoi's expression became ugly. "You Flame Haze always look down upon us who are lesser known but I will become great in literal meaning," He spat, literally.

"Move!" Celio yelled. Christophe grabbed Wilhelmina and jumped out of the way just as the ugly yellow liquid that flew from his mouth hit the ground, it sizzled and created a hole.

"Acid," Tiamat warned.

"He's famous for that but that's just one of his abilities. He can discharge electric as well, which is just as dangerous as far as Sawallisch's abilities go," Celio added as Christophe pushed Wilhelmina into a run.

"Wait!" Christophe grabbed Wilhelmina as he yelled, pulling her back as the ground in front of them collapsed and Olgoi once more made his appearance before them.

"Did I forget to mention he could do that too?" Celio added comically.

Olgoi laughed as he spoke. "Did you think you could run from me, Flame Haze? Are you too weak and scared to fight me?" His appearance was already hideous, added with his terrible laugh. Wilhelmina felt her anger burn again. How could such a disgusting being have killed her beloved family?

Christophe knew that the option of running was no longer there seeing as Olgoi can keep up with them through the ground. He had to fight and kill Olgoi but surely that would be highly dissatisfying for the lady that stood beside him. Perhaps she would deal the killing blow and he would assist her in doing so, it should not be too difficult, there were ways.

"I offer you this Lady Godfried, I will fight this thing but I will leave you the final blow and you may fulfil your revenge," Christophe said quietly enough only so that Wilhelmina could hear him. "In order to do that, you need only stand back, far back," What had she to lose? Wilhelmina retreated a distance away and watched as Christophe drew his rapier and held it firmly in his left hand.

"You will regret saying what you did Olgoi," Celio threatened.

"And what could be so terrifying, Heaven's Azure Hand, Celio? I have never heard of your Flame Haze before nor do I recognize him by any title, such a shame he will die without one," The large worm laughed some more.

"If I could think of more curse words to spew at you, I would but why waste my breath, just refresh his memory Christophe," That playful childish voice had just turned deadly.

Christophe had only just waved his hand and thorns sprouted out from the trees around them and green vines shot out from the ground below, filling the soil they stood on like a bed of green. Then buds sprouted from those vines and blue roses bloomed, the great worm gasping in shock when the roses bloomed.

"Do you fear me now?" Christophe asked, the thorns stretching around them.

"You are the invisible killer everyone speaks of, the one with the blue roses, Assassin Of The Poisonous Blue Rose," The worm backed up in fear, realizing he could be poisoned anytime soon and was trying to hold his breath.

"I prefer the title Gardener Of Selvaria, if you don't mind. You can try to run now but find you are unable to do so, my vines will stop you and the roots will block your way when you try to dig into the ground," Christophe explained. "You have done a great crime to this lady and now she will have her revenge upon you and I shall assist her in doing so."

"Not likely!" Olgoi released a huge charge of electric just then but Christophe remained unaffected. "How can this be?" He shouted in surprise.

"Plants are not insulators, how nice," Celio added with a sharp tone of sarcasm.

Christophe walked towards Wilhelmina, turning his back to Olgoi as his thorny vines wrapped themselves around the trees, blocking every possible escape route for the large worm. She looked into his eyes as he came to stand before and saw gentleness within them, no anger, no hatred unlike what she felt, just gentleness in his deep blue eyes. He extended his hand to her and she took it, following him forward a few paces then he stopped and switched his rapier to his right hand.

"I had made a promise to myself never to use this right hand of mine unless under certain conditions but I deem it worthy, for now," He said right off the bat. True enough, Wilhelmina had though he was left-handed but now it became obvious he is originally right-handed, choosing to use his other hand for personal reasons. "Hold on tight and think of the river, imagine the water flowing into this blade and then shooting forward like a straight line," He said softly to her, putting her right hand on the blade, his own enclosing on top of hers as he moved behind her.

"You think I will sit still and let you kill me?" Olgoi yelled in anger, preparing to spit more acid.

"Yes, you will," Christophe replied, vines suddenly shooting forward with quick speed and wrapping themselves around Olgoi, the thorns piercing his slimy body. "Now, think of your anger shooting toward him and then piercing straight through," He added to Wilhelmina as he raised the blade, guiding her hand and pointing it at Olgoi. Power gathered into the blade and it began to glow a bright pink. "Now, just scream with all your might and with all that you wish, Heaven's Roar," Blue sigils appeared from nowhere, wrapping themselves around the blade as though encouraging her to carry on.

Olgoi screamed in pain from the thorns but still stubbornly defiant. "I refuse to perish here at the hands of an assassin!"

Wilhelmina had just about lost her patience, feeling all her anger pool together, "Heaven's Roar!"

Pink light shot forward and pierced Olgoi who perished within a blink of an eye. Wilhelmina could not believe what she had just done, destroyed a being with one shot and she felt justified, she felt satisfied but she felt that Evelyn would have called her a foolish child, for letting her anger get the better of her. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks again at the thought. Her family would never have approved of what she had done and she could not even proclaim it to be in the Lord's name, he never supported revenge in the first place either.

"You need not justify yourself for your actions, consider it a past event that had occurred and come tomorrow it will be nothing short of a dream that you've just awoken from. The other option is to take it as a life lesson and carry on," Christophe advised. "Mourn your loss today and rise up tomorrow, there is nothing more here for you, your life here has perished as the price of the contract."

Oh yes, her life had perished, or existence as Tiamat had put it. There was just so many things she wanted to ask and she wondered what more she did not know about what existed in this world but she was too exhausted to think about it. Letting herself lean into Christophe who was standing behind her, she wiped away some of her tears to make way for more that continuously streamed down her cheeks. For now, she just wanted to sleep and forget that the world existed, closing her eyes as she thought so and felt the warmth of Christophe's hand on hers as he pulled the sword from her and heard him re-sheathing the blade. Then she felt him encompassing her in a gentle embrace as he lifted her into his arms once more. She rested her head on his shoulder and let the gentle motion of him walking and the soft breeze blowing against her tear sodden cheeks send her into the deep slumber she had wished for.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Wilhelmina woke up to the beautiful scent of food being cooked. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a fire nearby with a pot hanging over it, the source of the scent. It smelled absolutely delicious. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Wilhelmina had ascertained several more things. One, she had been sleeping comfortably for most of the day seeing as the sun was now low. Two, she was sitting on a neat pile of vines that had made her a comfortable bed and several warm blankets had been used to cover her while she slept. Three, her dress was more than deplorable to her now, in such a great state of a mess and her hair was just about as messed up. She sighed and pulled at the tangled mass on her head and let it fall out of its unruly bun. She smelled of soot, dirt and trees, the latter being not so bad. She looked up when she heard someone approaching and caught sight of Christophe who was carrying an armload of wood which she assumed was for the fire.

"I see you are awake," The voice she recognized as Celio's stated with a smile in his voice. Still, where on earth was he speaking from?

"Indeed I must know, where are you speaking from?" She just had to ask, one of the few things nagging her conscience.

"Oh, me, I am speaking from here," Celio replied with a laugh. She heard Christophe sigh and raise his right hand, revealing a single silver ring on his hand. "It's not much my sweet lady but this is my vessel, a silver ring, and the form that I have been given is a ring for one's finger by my simple-minded contractor. I would have preferred to have been given the form of a silver crown, befitting isn't it?" She caught Christophe rolling his eyes at the completely arrogant comment.

"Vessel? Though indeed I do know what it means, I am quite sure in your context it means differently," She asked, partially confused by the usage of words and the different terminology and contexts.

"Explanation required," Tiamat added out of the blue.

"And indeed I would also like to know what it is I have done to warrant her voice speaking from nowhere as well," Wilhelmina continued in an irritated fashion.

"I can safely assume that the taciturn and completely blunt Tiamat has explained _nothing_ to you," Celio replied.

"You did absolutely the same thing in order to achieve your own ends," Christophe added with injected annoyance.

"Well, can't disagree with that but we might as well get along and explain what she's gone and done which she is obviously unaware of having done," Celio replied with a small chuckle.

Christophe sighed heavily and came to sit beside Wilhelmina. "I will explain from the start but to answer your question about where Tiamat is speaking from, surely you can answer that yourself, just try and remember. Surely, without a doubt, she has asked you to give her a form in which to represent herself in this world, correct?"

Wilhelmina sat in a silent pause trying to recall this fact. She did, clearly remembering there was something else Tiamat said in between both of them catching on fire and before being blinded by white light. She can clearly recall being posed the question, though in a slightly different fashion and she had numbly given whatever answer had crossed her mind at the time. She pulled the tiara she wore off of her head and looked at the golden accessory in her hands, tilting her head sideways in slight confusion.

"Have you found your answer?" Christophe asked, walking over to her after taking a short poke at the fire. Wilhelmina continued to gaze at the tiara in her hands.

"In a way," She muttered in reply, just as Christophe came to sit beside her.

"Putting that aside, be prepared to be assaulted by the many new terms in which I will use, but also understand and store it into your mind the meaning of all these new terms which I will explain to you. When you are ready," She guessed just as much that there was a long story behind all this madness. There was nothing else she could do but accept the explanation and try to make the best out of it. She nodded in compliance, ready as she will ever be.

"Very well, in all certainty, you have been contracted to the Illusionist Crown, Tiamat and she is without a doubt a Crimson Denizen. A Denizen, in general, is a being from the world that is parallel to ours called the Crimson Realm. They cannot fully manifest into our world without taking on another form and so although some take on forms that are similar to their true names and related to their powers, some take on the form of humans. However, in order to do that, they would require a lot of power to do so, something that is not easily obtained in this world. That by eating Power Of Existence, or Existence in short, they can make up for their loss in power and sustain themselves in this world. It is however unfortunate that they need to continuously consume Existence in order to maintain their form in this world or else they will perish. Objects in this world, inanimate or alive all have Existence, in literal meaning of the word itself. Animated objects, humans, are the greatest source or provider of Existence if compared to an inanimate object, thus humans become the target more often than not."

She was supposed to absorb all of this information? More than anything, why would such creatures, if they had brains, do such stupid things? "Why indeed would they traverse so far just to consume us?" He sensed the irritation in her voice which he could easily understand because he himself had asked that question before.

"To fulfil their own curiosities of our world, which happens to be very much different from theirs and also to fulfil their own selfish desires at times," He could tell that his answer was not sufficient but truly, that was all there was to it. "Not all are bad, much like we humans are, there are also some that are good, albeit not saintly, but good," Celio laughed at the latter part of Christophe's comment and he could see that she was smiling, despite herself.

"Then why indeed do Denizens such as Celio and Tiamat make contracts with us?"

"He was getting to that, right?" Celio replied with a chuckle.

"Yes, of course. Consuming humans and eating their Existence is not something that can be done without suffering consequences. When large amounts of people suddenly do not exist, it causes a great distortion because certain Existences create great impacts in the world, for example the Existence of a king is important as a person to guide and lead the people forward. Should he not exist, the people will not move forward and if the world were to suddenly stop moving forward due to that loss, the world will collapse."

She was slightly surprised. So this is what he meant when he said existence in a literal meaning to the word. Their identity in the world would be erased should they be eaten by a Denizen, they would, in full meaning of the term, not exist in the world as though never being born in the first place. If great people had not existed and done what they had done to progress the world forward, the world would indeed come to halt, become redundant and then just cease to exist altogether.

She snapped herself to attention when Christophe continued his explanation. "Due to the fact that the Crimson Realm is a world parallel to ours, it is also attached and so if this world should collapse, so would theirs. Everything will cease to exist altogether. So, some Denizens, knowing this truth, seek out contractors to form a bond with in order to protect this balance and to avoid total destruction."

"So indeed we are like soldiers, protectors of this world and the next," Christophe nodded in agreement to her statement.

"Responsibility," Tiamat added.

"Well, we can't say we're any proud of our race for being idiots in the first place. I mean, we are meant to be great but there are ways to show greatness and eating humans is not one of them. It's barbaric," Such a comment coming from Celio was rather surprising, but it was a clear statement of the point that he did not like the trouble he has to go through, disciplining his kind.

"There are special benefits to making a contract and creating a Flame Haze, if compared to manifesting personally. In this way, they do not have to full manifest themselves in our world, but Denizens take on the form of a vessel in which to represent themselves in, as Celio mentioned earlier, his vessel being a silver ring, Tiamat's being persona."

"Persona?" Another term and she doubted this would be the last one she'd hear for the rest of this day.

"Foresight," Tiamat replied.

"In full meaning of the word," Celio added. "Some vessels, like Tiamat's, offer an extra advantage. Mine obviously does not but her offers you the ability to see ahead."

"She offers the advantage through her vessel but some Denizens have other special abilities that can be passed on to their contractors. My rapier called the Heaven's Blade is a Treasure Tool that originally belongs to Celio and it comes into my possession, to my advantage."

Treasure Tool, yet another new term. It doesn't seem to end, does it? "Indeed I can safely guess that it too has a special ability of its own?" She said, cocking her brow sideways at him.

His smile caught her off guard and his eyes seem to be laughing at her. "Yes, its special ability is, as you used earlier today, to obliterate. It also has the ability to cloak one's presence completely. The reason Olgoi found us was because you radiated your presence while I did not. I do not fault you for it simply because you did not know it," Her defiant pout was rather endearing. Beside himself with idiocy, Christophe mentally smacked himself and continued his explanation. "Resuming where we left off, Treasure Tools being the lesser importance in this explanation, not all Crimson Denizens are equally powerful and much like humans have a difference in how much Existence they can carry. Those with large Existence are given the title Lord and those greater than them are called Gods."

Wilhelmina blinked, just blinked. Monsters called Denizens even have classes and ranks amongst them, it was almost funny yet it is a curious thing indeed.

"All Flame Haze, without a doubt, are contracted to Crimson Lords, the stronger amongst their average Denizen. There is only one who is the exception to this and that is my partner, Mathilde Saint Omer, who is currently not yet present amongst us. She is contracted to one of the three Gods of the Crimson Realm."

"Indeed there are only three?" She was surprised there was not more than that amount.

"Precisely," Tiamat replied.

"The first to come into existence is the God Of Creation, Snake Of Festival. By his true name, you can tell what he is capable of doing. The second is the God Of Atonement, Flame Of Heaven, Alastor and the last is the God Of Guidance, Thunderous Chant Of Awakening, Shaher. All three are tasked with materializing the laws of the Crimson Realm. Mathilde is contracted to the second, Alastor."

Something else bothered Wilhelmina as she tried to remember all the names he had just told her. "Why indeed do they have such long names?" His laughing at her question did not make her any happier. It was simply too hard to resist. He could see why Southvalley had a swell time of it when Christophe was going through this process.

Taking in a short breath, Christophe smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, I forgot to explain that. Take Celio for example, his true name, the name given at his birth, is Heaven's Azure Hand but his alias, the name given to him upon arrival in this world is Celio," That made a little more sense now, if only a bit. "In other words, their true name is a title in which is related to their powers. Celio's title relates to his special blue flame and flight and Tiamat's relates to her ability to create strong illusions and fool the mind," It sounded like a criminal act, her Crimson Lord, to fool _her_ mind and into this contract. It was almost evil. Wilhelmina could almost laugh at her own joke but she didn't dare lest she make herself look odd in front of Christophe. Not to say that he wasn't already having a kick out of the entire conversation but she doubted it was in a bad way.

"Conclusion," Tiamat suddenly said.

"Yes, she's about right. I believe we've covered almost everything about what you're going to be going against and what you are. The rest is knowledge you can pick up along the way," Celio added.

"From tomorrow onwards I will teach you how to use your powers, I will teach you about Power Of Unrestraint or also known as Unrestricted Spells and I will teach you how to use your flame and manipulate the Power Of Existence that flows through you," Teach her? He was going to teach her? She was going to ignore the rest of the terms he just said until tomorrow, she thought defiantly.

Then again, she had little to no reason to complain about anything at all. Christophe was fairly good looking, that much she knew and he seemed to be of fair nature, if albeit a bit dark; that she recalled from earlier. He had not been merciful but when he held her hand in his, she felt warmth and gentleness. Wilhelmina felt her cheeks heat up at the thought. Such nonsense at a time like this!

"One could not ask for a better teacher I say!" A loud voice intervened, the girl with bright red hair Wilhelmina had met the night before, trod into the clearing proclaiming herself, still dressed in finery that was by now most horribly torn up and dirty. "Christophe was taught by the great Flame Hazes known as the Four Gods Of The Earth, you will surely benefit by learning from him!" The words sewn together by this woman made Wilhelmina sneak a curious glance at Christophe whom she knew nothing about and saw an irritated expression on his face. He was obviously not one who liked to be spoken about and this people, the Four Gods, as the redhead had put, were great Flame Haze. Perhaps he felt small and insignificant if compared to those people or he is merely shy. Was he shy?

"Hah, so you admit that my Flame Haze is great!" Celio shouted arrogantly in return.

"Arrogant proclamation," Tiamat added.

"I have every right to be arrogant!" Celio replied with a laugh.

There seemed no end to his big head despite him being, in her opinion, rather child-like. Then again, she supposed, being childishly arrogant was something he was probably known for and she doubted the word _humble _was anywhere in his vocabulary.

"Be arrogant by your own means and boast of your own achievements, not of mine which are hardly anything worth boasting about," Christophe replied meekly, moving away from Wilhelmina and closer to the fire to check his broth. At the reminder of food, Wilhelmina suddenly felt hungry. She felt blood rush to her cheeks at the sound of her grumbling tummy.

"Sustenance is required," Tiamat sounded. Curse her, why did she have to state the obvious! It was simply too embarassing and Christophe looked like he wanted to laugh again. Mathilde and Celio, however, did not bother holding back their own chuckles.

"You slept for a good long while, I'm not surprised. Then again, using Heaven's Blade for the first time is also a stupid thing to suggest considering the amount of stamina one would require to wield it in the first place," The latter part was muttered softly enough that Wilhelmina could barely make out what he was saying.

"Well, I'm hungry too and it took me ages to find you!" The redhead said with high spirits, parking herself next to the fire. "Plus, your cooking is really good, who taught you?"

Christophe contemplated answering the question but thought it would not make much of a difference at this late point of time anyways. "Westshore taught me," He was joined by Celio.

"Along with other house chores and feminine stuff that was totally unnecessary. At least she didn't force you to try sewing, your masculinity would have died away with that," Christophe felt his blood drain away, deciding not to say anything to that. Celio's lack of care for the other's feelings is rather disadvantageous to him, most of the time. Honestly speaking, he never begrudged Westshore for anything that she thought him, in fact he was grateful because before this, he knew nothing about how to do any of those!

"Surely it would have been an added bonus to have learned it anyways," Alastor said, trying to salvage the situation. Wilhelmina assumed it was the ring on the redhead's hand that was speaking, the vessel of her Crimson Lord. It was a wild guess but it seemed to stand out very much, what with the crimson ambers sparkling beautifully within the dark gem. It was most exquisite, if that was even the proper word to describe an extremely interesting piece.

"Ack, sewing is the most boring thing in the world. I dislike it as well so I don't blame you Christophe," Now it was the contractor, the redhead she recalled was named Mathilde, that spoke. Sewing, boring? It is the most suitable activity to be done in one's past time and also to be able to fashion your own garments, is it not a great thing? She would have said all of that were she confident enough to speak aloud. In all consideration, she did not know these people, save Christophe but that even she barely knew enough to scrape the surface. It was improper to speak out of one's way in the presence of those in seniority. Well, they are knowledgeable in this field, something she was not.

"Spare me. The moment I decide to answer any or some of your questions I feel that my life is being invaded by you," Christophe muttered in irritation. He had never bothered explaining himself to anyone before, other than the Four Gods, and he was close to regret whenever revealing something to Mathilde that might later jeopardize his title to her.

Yes, it was better no one knew his title or knew who he was. Killing silently was his best trick in the book and he desired nothing more than to finish the job quickly without having to get brutal about it. This is why no one recognizes his face nor his name but only by his signature blue rose, earning him the extra nickname of Assassin Of The Poisonous Blue Rose. His Perfume was a special spell he created so that his roses would instead be scented with poison. Should anyone inhale it, they would pass out and then die. It was not an overly painful death, just quick and simple, albeit underhanded.

"Am I really that bad?" Mathilde asked with a pout. "I highly doubt that, weaklings are worse," She paused at that last comment when she caught sight of Christophe irritated expression. "Never mind," She trailed off, putting her thumbs together and twiddling them.

Christophe sighed heavily and passed a bowl of warm broth to Wilhelmina and then passed one to Mathilde. "If you require time and space to refresh yourself, there is a river just ahead of here. Seeing as you have no other garments save for the one on your back, Mathilde can lend you some of hers."

"Mine? Would she even want to wear them? I'm worried they won't fit," Mathilde muttered the latter part out.

"Those rags you call clothes? I doubt she'd want to wear them," Celio added with a laugh.

"They are not rags! Don't listen to him Wilhelmina, he's just downright horrible!" Mathilde retorted.

Was it her or was this the first person amongst them to actually say her name? Christophe had called her politely by her family name but Mathilde had skipped all formality and merely addressed her as Wilhelmina. It felt odd but warming at the same time. She had to do something about her name, now that she thought about it. She did not want to be reminded of the sad memory of losing everything, she wanted a name that would remind her of the sweet loving family she used to have. Yes, something memorable, something sweet, like the middle name she was given that most have forgotten, all save Evelyn had remembered it. She was the youngest and so her mother and father had bestowed the name to her, Carmel, her mother's maiden name. Yes, her name was now Wilhelmina Carmel.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES

Sorry for the delay, college assignments and lack of mood and inspiration to write slowed me down. I will definitely try to up my game and write this story as best as I can, for now, enjoy what I feel is too short a chapter to make up for lost time...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Christophe was surprised to find Wilhelmina up earlier than any of them. Mathilde still sleeping was nothing unusual, she was always last to rise. Her sleeping form was most unbefitting for a lady, limbs stretched about everywhere, her mouth gaping open, she was the exact example of what a lady ought _not_ to be. Sleepily glancing to where Wilhelmina was, she was sitting by the fire, braiding up her hair and then tying it neatly so that it would not obstruct her when she walked. She was dressed in whatever Mathilde could provide, namely pants, shirt and tunic. It was not much but at least it covered her until she can attain her own garments. It is perhaps fortunate that Mathilde is not too different in size from Wilhelmina, otherwise surely nothing would fit and his own garments are far more different in size, totally not suitable for her usage. Sitting up, still slightly lightheaded and dizzy from sleep, Christophe covered his mouth as he could not stop a yawn from coming up, catching Wilhelmina's attention.

"Good morning," She greeted automatically as she watched him blink sleepily. His hair was mussed up from his sleep and it made him look rather silly with some hair sticking out in odd places. Honestly, she was trying not to laugh at his sleepy expression. It made him look gentler than yesterday. He looked frightening when merciless or angry.

"Greetings," Tiamat added shortly after. Wilhelmina was still trying to get used to the fact that Tiamat was talking from the tiara on her head. It was just odd but she supposed after some time it would not even bother her one bit.

She silently watched as Christophe rose from where he had slept through the night and trod, sleepily, towards where the river was. Minutes passed and all Wilhelmina could hear was the sound of Mathilde mumbling in her sleep. She found it very odd that someone who wore a gown and looked pretty behaved completely unladylike and truly unruly. It was almost shameful, Mathilde's behaviour and lack of mannerisms, completely shameful for a woman. She wondered who it was who raised her to be such. As much as Wilhelmina too had her mishaps, she was never so unruly even, not even Daphne had amounted to such. This was probably due to Evelien always keeping a tight rein on all of them, ensuring that nothing was ever done in the extreme, only Daphne sought to rebel against that. Wilhelmina was shocked out of her thoughts when she heard Mathilde grunt loudly before turning onto her side and then continuing her unobstructed slumber. She could not help but frown upon such an action, it was simply not done.

"I suggest that you start with doing some light stretches before we begin. I will explain the basics as you do so," Christophe was back and he was shirtless. Wilhelmina had never gazed at a man bare-chested before, it was the first time for her and she found it, interesting.

He was not overly muscular, had a lean body that was shapely at the hips with muscles protruding from his lower torso. His arms were evenly muscular to match but overall, he was slim. Wilhelmina felt that her brothers were never this slim, that much she knew at least, but Christophe had broad shoulders, despite his more feminine form, an odd thing for a man to have. Was she being too judgemental? His body was nice, just to be fair, other than that, there was nothing more to say. Was there really nothing more to say? She mentally shook her head. Why she even bothered with such seamless thoughts was beyond her. Wilhelmina stood up, recalling that she was to do some light stretches.

Christophe then turned to explain a few things to Wilhelmina while she did her stretches and he dried out his hair. "Now, to begin, we as Flame Haze are special because we are given the ability to manipulate flames without the usage of Power Of Existence, relying on our stamina instead. If we have less stamina, thus we can use less. Stamina, in this context, refers to how much we can house as a vessel. The greater existence we have, the more we can house and the longer we can last in battle and we can do more. Creativity, also gives us the upper hand, it is when we put our abilities to full use," His explanation was clean and clear, explaining all that was necessary.

Putting together what she supposed she managed to absorb yesterday, Wilhelmina tried to form a reply, "Indeed in other words, since I am a princess, I can house more thus giving me greater strength than normal, correct?"

"Containment capacity," Tiamat added.

"Correct. We can still get tired and exhausted but we no longer rely on just physical stamina but more on what we can house. We, unlike Denizen who are in constant need of refuelling, we need not since we have a certain amount of decreed stamina but if we run out, we will not perish like they do, we merely need our usual sustenance to rebuild that stamina and continue on. Our human form gives us this advantage that Denizens do not have. What I will teach you from today onward is how to physically defend yourself, hand combat. At the same time, I will also teach you to sense Power Of Existence flowing through an attack which will assist you in determining where the attack will come from and how strong it will be, simple enough?"

Her expression was placid, her head slightly tilted sideways in part confusion, it looked quite adorable really. Christophe had never really come across anyone like her, which is very odd indeed since Mathilde was the total opposite, then again, if it were Mathilde he was explaining all this to, he'd need a week to fully explain everything. It was well enough that Wilhelmina caught on easily and did not question too much, well sometimes she does question too much as he had learnt the night before this.

"Shall we begin, Miss Godfried?" Wilhelmina turned her red eyes to face him as if ascertaining something and then switched to a more neutral expression.

"My name is indeed no longer as such, it is Wilhelmina Carmel since that name reminds me of the things I do not wish to be reminded of," This surprised Christophe but he made no mind to question her since it is her decision. He would have changed his name but it was exactly for the reason that he wanted to remember instead of forget. He could never forget, no matter the years. Pulling his mind back from the abyss of darkness that was his heart, Christophe nodded in compliance.

"Very well, pardon my mistake, Miss Carmel," He apologized, putting on a shirt and then his tunic. His chest was still slightly visible through the small slit in the neckline. Wilhelmina mentally smacked herself for even looking there. "Shall we begin?" Satisfied with herself, Wilhelmina nodded and followed him out into a larger clearing. Then he put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "Stand here," A simple command while he himself moved forward to stand several feet opposite her.

"Now, I will attack you and you will try to evade, just evade. If you think you want to try attacking me back, then you may do so. Sensing Power Of Existence is important as well. How do you sense it, simple, you feel it flow in the area about you like the way you feel the wind blowing against your skin. It will become very obvious when it is gathered into one point, like this for example," Christophe demonstrated by holding in his hand a small blue flame. She could feel it, like water pooling into his hand, like wind gathering in a single spot. "If you can sense this, you must next be able to determine where it will flow. Feel it," He suddenly let the flame dissipate and she could feel the Power Of Existence diminish and then felt it flow to the ground, setting the grass around Christophe's feet ablaze.

"Indeed I can fully grasp this," She said, nodding in understanding.

"It is something you must always be aware about because we can manipulate Power Of Existence to enhance our physical attacks as well, though it is not something often done by many since they prefer the usage of their flame. Now, when sensing when attacks will come, do not just rely on Power Of Existence. Eyes, when you look into your opponents eyes, you must search for their intent, what they intend to do next. You can determine your next course of action based on that, so never look away. It will take time for you to get used to it but so long as you grasp what you need to do, it is more than enough for the time being. Now, prepare yourself, I will attack you and I will not hesitate to hit you should it connect so dodge well. I will switch between punching and kicking, some will be light and some will be strong so it is up to you to evade the strong attacks and block the light attacks," Finished with his explanation, Christophe fell into stance.

Wilhelmina had guessed just as much she was not going to be given an easy time. He has explained the lesson and now came the practical part, putting what he had just told her to do into proper action. The gentle expression in his eyes was no longer, it was dark and merciless. Taking a deep breath, Wilhelmina fell into what she believed was a defensive stance. He had not explained how to fight, merely that she was to attempt blocking and evading. Suddenly, before she could even blink, Christophe was right in front of her. She only just managed to move sideways but she could feel the intensity of his strike, grazing her arm. She could feel it throbbing.

"The enemy may move even faster than I am moving now, always be prepared and keep your guard up," If he was this deadly without his rapier, she dared not imagine how much more dangerous he was with it.

"Constant vigilance," Tiamat advised.

"To block, keep your hands locked together and keep your feet apart for balance," Just then, he threw another attack, this time a kick. Much like the first, it was unexpected and it forced Wilhelmina to jump aside.

She was panting by this time, more for fear than exhaustion, It was just the beginning yet she was already afraid. Biting her lip, surely it cannot possibly hurt that much, not that much, or so she thought. She knew clearly how much of a bruise a punch can be, no thanks to Frederik and Daphne. No, she had to remain positive, Christophe would never hurt her too greatly, this was to teach her how to protect herself, a little bit of pain mattered not, it should never matter and it had never mattered to her in the first place so there was no reason to be so miss'ish about it.

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She took that back, Christophe was merciless. He did not spare her a chance to block or evade properly and technically speaking, give her a chance to attack, it would take an insanity streak to get her to even try that! She did not want to get up now, not for a good long while. Her side hurt and her arms felt like lead trying to block his blows. She wondered what kind of person it took to beat Christophe, she really did.

"Ah, you guys started without me! Christophe, is she alright? Did you at least give her a chance?" Mathilde's loud voice could be heard.

"You'd think that any other Denizen would? Don't baby her witch!" Celio scolded, appearing on Christophe's finger, having been silently dozing off wherever Christophe had previously left him.

"This is the method in which I was taught by the Four Gods, I would not teach differently," Christophe replied, walking back towards the camp. "She is not going to die from a few bruises and she was quite sporting as far as I can tell. Miss Carmel, please pick yourself up and eat breakfast before we continue," Breakfast, that sounded nice, she wanted in.

"Just be a tad bit easy on her, she just started! And I am not babying her squirt and Christophe, who is Miss Carmel?" Mathilde retorted, trailing right behind Christophe, shooting words at him one after the other.

"Miss Carmel is Wilhelmina of course. She decided to change her last name," He replied blandly, turning his focus to the fish that was cooking over the fire.

"Hah, you think this is bad, try going against The Man Who Guides The Dead on your first day and tell me how to you'd feel after that! The man was faster than Christophe was just now and with a wooden leg no less," Mathilde remained silent at that. Celio was right, going easy was not the better option after all but Wilhelmina was still new to all this, surely it warranted some bit of care.

"Indeed I am fine, but I thank you for your concern," She had managed to pull herself up despite the ache in her body, that and because the delicious scent of food brought her forth. She will not deny her aching body sustenance.

"Unnecessary alarm," Tiamat added. It had become quite a thing for Tiamat to do a rejoinder and it was so far never more than two words. She had definitely spoken more earlier, obviously choosing not to. It was ridiculous to speak no more than two words, just plain ridiculous.

"Oh, I see," Mathilde muttered, still slightly dissatisfied with some things. "Maybe I ought to spar with her the next round," She said, coming to sit down by the fire, eyeing the fish hungrily. She tried to reach for it but Christophe handsomely smacked her hand, _hard_, causing her to withdraw instantly.

"Up to you," Christophe seemed completely unconcerned which in turn irked Mathilde to no end as she silently nursed her injured hand.

"Will you not show some care?" She asked with a pout.

"I will care when care is necessary but at the moment it is unnecessary," Mathilde would have shot another comment forward but was stopped when Alastor joined the conversation.

"He is not wrong to go at full strength but he had not unnecessarily harmed Miss Carmel either so I see no reason to bicker over the subject. If you wish to try her out then by all means," He was not stopping her and neither was Christophe and so that left Mathilde in silent contemplation of the facts and how to go about teaching Wilhelmina. Plus, Alastor had made a damn good point, so the argument had been won, in Christophe's favour.

Could she do it better than Christophe? She shot him a brief glance, the man himself keeping his attention on the food cooking over the fire. Who was she to say that she could do a better job than him? She spared Wilhelmina a glance. The way she looked now was completely unlike what a princess should look like, all trussed up and dirty but Wilhelmina was not complaining nor was she being anything near miss'ish at all. However, even Mathilde could tell that Wilhelmina still carried herself with such an air, sitting straight, shoulders back, tummy in and her chin raised politely, not arrogantly, her hands gracefully poised on her lap, her legs conservatively close. She herself could not say anything to that, sitting in a slouched manner, legs parted and elbows on her knees. Pouting at the thought, she quickly pushed it aside though it was very obvious that she and Wilhelmina were absolute polar opposites of each other.

"Fine, I shall consent to strict training," Her sudden outburst got everyone's attention, even Christophe looked at her.

"Who ever needed your consent you half-baked witch?" The oddly constructed name nearly made Christophe laugh, Celio being completely rude, again. What came out from the silver haired man was a choked sort of laugh while Wilhelmina covered her mouth, her shaking shoulders giving away her own mirth. Alastor could only cough gruffly to hide his own laughter. The evilness of it all!

"Hey! I was being serious!" Mathilde exclaimed, her cheeks turning red either out of anger or embarrassment, Christophe could not be certain.

"And so was I, who needed your consent? Christophe could have just gone on as he had without your having to say anything, not like you or any greater power could stop him unless you're going to pick a fight over it," Celio replied with an added air of arrogance. Mathilde's expression turned completely dark just then.

"I want to strangle him," She bit out.

"You can throw him," Christophe suggested, poking the fish, trying not to laugh. He was simply having too much fun, despite the fact that he may get himself thrown for taking fun out of the entire situation.

"Whose side are you on?" Celio asked angrily, considering that Christophe was not supporting his cause he had every right to be angry.

"Would that not indeed be an unwise suggestion," Wilhelmina squeaked in surprise.

"Tom foolery," Tiamat added with her unchanging tone.

"Give me it!" Mathilde reached for Christophe's hand and pulled off the ring, throwing it almost instantly.

"He will return, shortly," Christophe replied to Wilhelmina over Mathilde's victorious laugh. He felt he ought to reassure her considering her pallid expression at the action.

"This is most childish," Alastor muttered gruffly, a sign he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Unruly behaviour," Tiamat added.

"You don't say!" Celio screeched.

"He's back already?" Mathilde asked in shock and disappointment, crossing her arms as she sat by the fire, pouting angrily.

"Yes, I'm back, _already_, problem with that witch?" Celio replied smartly. He would shake his booty in her face had he a booty to do such a thing. He was absolutely, one hundred percent sure that Christophe would never do it on his behalf.

"Indeed this is endless," Wilhelmina muttered to herself trying to ignore the amount of shouting going on.

"It is quite common for them to argue over the most idiotic of things," Christophe replied, passing Wilhelmina a bowl with the fish in it. "I hope you don't mind eating with your fingers though I highly suggest you wash your hands first," His kind smile caught her off guard. Blushing slightly, Wilhelmina put down the bowl and headed to the river to wash.

When she came back, Mathilde and Celio had ceased their silly argument seeing as Mathilde was too preoccupied eating to argue. After eating, Christophe, already waiting, asked for one more round before they continue on their journey into a more hospitable area. However, before they could begin, Mathilde decided she wanted to go one round with Wilhelmina to test her mettle, as she put it. Wilhelmina had no doubt she was going to be trounced anyways.

"Very well, you may do as you please," Christophe replied, stepping aside. It was not to say he enjoyed seeing women getting thrown about, not Wilhelmina's type anyways since Mathilde liked being thrown about. That did not come out right for some reason. Shaking the thought, Christophe tried not to cringe about it since it was not such a good example.

"Thank you, I will do it well," Mathilde added with a smile before dropping into her battle stance. "Get ready Wilhelmina!"

Was Mathilde always this enthusiastic about battle? She glanced briefly at Christophe before taking a deep breath and falling into her own stance as well, one of several that Christophe had showed her in their sparring session earlier. It was definitely easier to apply it when he attacks you then shows her how to block it and then he repeats continuously with somewhat similar attacks just to make sure she got it right before trying something else. However, the only problem with repetition is that she felt stupid whenever making the same mistake more than once and that was her only complaint, to herself rather. True, it was not easy but she at least managed to make some progress enough to evade without having to actually suffer any extremely painful injuries.

Looking straight into Mathilde's eyes, Wilhelmina tried to gauge what Mathilde intended but even that was not enough to have prepared her for what was going to happen next. Mathilde suddenly moved left, then right, then back again, repetitively. This action confused Wilhelmina because Christophe had remained in one spot and then attacked from there, retreat and then attack again. Wilhelmina could judge his movements a little easier but this, what Mathilde was doing, it was more difficult to judge when she will attack.

"Focus, do not rely completely on your eyes, sense movement, sense the flow of Power, do not sink into fear whenever your opponent behaves oddly or differently, all your enemies will behave differently," She felt calmer after hearing Christophe's advice. Yes, he was right, not all her enemies will move or behave the same considering that all of them each have a special trait or ability that is uniquely theirs, therefore their method of fighting will surely be different.

"The witch is blazing with Power Of Existence because she never bothers to put it under control, it should make it ten times easier to judge her movements," Celio added, laughing in the process. This new piece of information made Wilhelmina more aware, despite Mathilde not being affected by it.

Then it came, but Wilhelmina had managed to roughly gauge how the attack will flow. At least she knew it was going to be a kick because Mathilde had focused most of her power there. She put her hands together to block which she later realized was a big mistake on her part because she had wrongly judged how strong the attack would be and felt her arms sting horribly as she was thrown back several feet. She tried not to wince but it really did sting, terribly so.

"What did I tell you about blocking? If it is a situation where you can parry and evade, do so, do not rely on blocking, it is completely unnecessary unless you are in a completely dire situation where you cannot evade," There it is again, scolding her for her mistake. Christophe had drilled her about it earlier and here she was, making the same mistake again, for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. She felt extremely foolish.

"Don't waste your energy blocking, but don't always remain on the defensive either, it is also wasteful," Celio added.

"Attack," Tiamat encouraged, but Wilhelmina was not even sure she could make contact. It seemed nearly impossible against these veterans but it was, she supposed, worth a try.

Taking deep breaths, Wilhelmina prepared to go on the counter-offensive. Mathilde was still moving around actively, making it harder for her to aim her charge. She didn't want to try kicking because she might miss. She most likely had a better chance of connecting with a punch even though Wilhelmina doubted she could pull off anything powerful enough to throw Mathilde back.

Christophe could tell that Wilhelmina was taking the time to consider her best course of action, which is not bad, but taking too long does not offer any form of benefit either. Mathilde had attacked again, Wilhelmina taking caution to evade this time. Christophe too had to think now, the best course of action to take with Wilhelmina. It was obvious she is not made for such a brusque and rough fighting style like Mathilde's. She requires something more refined and flexible, like that of an acrobat, yes and acrobat, it would probably suit better than having her try to be rough.

"Wilhelmina, fighting is equivalent to dancing. Evade Mathilde like a dancer avoids hitting into others in a crowded ballroom. Move like one, find yourself a comfortable pose, you need not force yourself into a stance that you feel does not help you move better. Just remember to keep your legs slightly apart for balance, relax your body, keep your mind clear and sharp," This was different than what he had said earlier but the idea sounded much more pleasing.

"Waltz," Tiamat added.

"You may freely move about to give yourself some momentum and yes, waltz is a good example of leg movement to follow but like some dances, you must hasten and sometimes slow down your movements based on how fast your opponent, or in which case the beat of the song, goes," Alastor offered helpfully. This idea is beginning to have a lot of merit because he saw some of her inhibitions go away with something more familiar put into her head. She is now less tense about when Mathilde will attack, moving gracefully to avoid instead of trying to maintain her defensive stance all the time.

"Be more flexible, let your arms and legs flow together in single form but always keep your arms up and ready, do not hesitate. Make a mistake and learn from it, do not fear the attack or the injury, be an opportunist," She was moving much better now and Christophe could tell it will be a little bit easier to teach her now that she had a simple analogy in her head.

Wilhelmina felt more comfortable and it was a little easier but still, Mathilde was still faster and her strikes were very powerful, no light strikes at all, not a single one. These facts made Wilhelmina feel slightly uneasy but she was doing a bit better and that had to mean something. Mathilde had attacked again, completely into the heat of battle and not showing a sign of letting up anytime soon. Wilhelmina evaded and realized she had gotten really close. She decided to take the opportunity and try to throw a punch. Like the flowing river, Christophe had said, she let the Power Of Existence flow to her right fist and she threw it forward with a short sharp cry. Mathilde had not expected that and was thus caught off guard. She was too close to Wilhelmina to avoid and thus had no choice but to take the blow. Wilhelmina was surprised that the blow had connected and it had forced Mathilde into stumbling backwards a little. What was more, her hand hurt so much, really, it seriously hurt and this Wilhelmina could not stop herself from biting back a sob as she cradled her hand.

"One, I don't think she was prepared for that, two, she did not guard her hand using Power Of Existence, thus the pain," Celio muttered, trying not to laugh aloud. Christophe was only a little disappointed with Mathilde, for letting her guard down and taking Wilhelmina for granted. Such behaviour is not welcome in battle.

"I totally did not expect that," Mathilde's muttered statement was cut off by Alastor himself.

"That is the price you pay for taking Wilhelmina for granted and playing around with your opponent," Mathilde winced, not from pain of the blow she had just taken, but from the sting of Alastor's words. Really, Wilhelmina's punch didn't hurt that much, more like a pinch but then again, a mistake is a mistake, on her part anyways.

"Are you alright?" Christophe asked, taking Wilhelmina's hand into his and checking her knuckles. She felt heat rise to her cheeks as he gently ran his fingers over her small bruise. "You forgot to flow your power properly and thus you now have a very nice bruise. It will heal in short time, but very painful, especially if you're not used to it," Wilhelmina nodded solemnly, her own stupid mistake. She quietly hid her reddened cheeks as he gently rubbed her knuckles to ease the pain.

"I will be sure indeed to remember that next time," Her voice slightly choked up.

"Well, the most important thing is that we _all_ learned something today. One, Mathilde learned not to take you for granted, two, you learned the importance of flowing your energy properly and three, I have come to a conclusion on the method in which to teach you from now on," Mathilde huffed in dissatisfaction at that. Wilhelmina was somewhat excited at that, if anything to make her learning experience a little easier.

"Progress achieved," Tiamat chimed in and it seemed, to Wilhelmina, to be at odd and somewhat opportune moments.

"Yes, and now we shall be moving on. Everyone is to assist in cleaning up the camp, especially you Mathilde. You ran off to who knows where last round," Christophe said, turning to Mathilde with a raised brow. Said person pouted at that and the only reaction she got out of that was an 'I'm not joking' expression from Christophe. "I mean it," He bit out coldly. Mathilde could almost see black flames, instead of blue, rising up behind Christophe and hunching in her direction.

"Fine, I shall help _clean_ up the place," She muttered as she trod off in the direction of the camp, not wanting to argue with him, what with that expression.

"And I don't mean just clean up your things and just leave the campfire there and disappear!" He shouted after her. His previous experiences with her left him doubtful of her ability to do just a simple chore. If there was one thing he knew about Mathilde, she was lazy and would so conveniently not do the chore at all.

"I know!" She yelled back, grunting loudly after that.

Celio snorted at that. "I'm telling you, she's going to make a bail for it because she really hates cleaning. Lazy donkey that one," Wilhelmina refrained from making any comments whatsoever, although she would have laughed at how ridiculous it was. Mathilde quite clearly had a very personal dislike for the chore.

When Christophe moved to follow after Mathilde and head back to where they camped, only then did Wilhelmina realize that he was still holding onto her hand and was pulling her along. He was holding her hand, the thought enough to make her blush, _again_. There was nothing wrong with that, it was just, well, it was simply a very intimate gesture is all.

Wilhelmina shook her head, hard. _"Indeed, just because he holds your hand does not mean anything. Unless both have come to a complete understanding, nothing can be assumed,"_ She nodded at that thought. Besides, Christophe was to be her teacher and she was to learn from him. It would simply not do if she were to blush and freak out at every single supposedly intimate gesture. Touching and brushing up against one another must be something she has to get accustomed to if she is going to learn how to fight properly. Yes, her goal is now to become an accomplished Flame Haze and to make use of what Christophe was now teaching her in order to survive.

"Oh, you're done already? We ought to go for one round when we get to the town, it's a miracle and we might actually get lucky!" Celio exclaimed with a bark of laughter.

"I don't gamble," Christophe muttered, grabbing his coat and putting it and then passing the white cloak Mathilde had presented him to Wilhelmina. "Use this as we travel. It is best for now that people do not recognize your face or come to know you or else it will be harder for you in future," He added, putting the cloak around her and pinning it in the front. It was a very gentlemanly gesture, Mathilde noted. She had never seen this side of him before, not when he was around her alone, but with Wilhelmina, it was a different story altogether. Perhaps it was because Wilhelmina was the ladylike kind and Christophe is _not_ immune to that sort. At least she wasn't the soppy miss'ish kind, Mathilde could not handle that and she doubted Christophe could as well.

"Best to make your debut with a bang," Celio added, Wilhelmina blushing softly as Christophe adjusted the cloak for her.

"Thank you, you are indeed most kind," She said, smiling softly. This caught Christophe off guard, only slightly.

"For someone who is supposed to be heavily traumatized, you are quite something to be able to smile honestly despite all that has happened," He stated, covering up his own blunder. Wilhelmina found his statement shocking.

"Why indeed do you say that? Were you not indeed, true to your own words as you had said them to me yesterday?" He had never been stumped in ages, not since, not even Mathilde could do it yet Wilhelmina had stumped him. Then again, there was too much things happening in his life that he could barely put the pieces together, not even in his head.

"It seems that you find them easier to follow than I do. You could say that my sanity is still work in progress," Christophe replied softly, turning away and walking forward, hiding his solemn expression. Celio huffed heavily but had not commented on that.

Wilhelmina could sense an underlying meaning to his words but it was made quite obvious that he was not the kind of person who likes to share his personal life with not just anyone. She wondered what it would take to crack this person. Then she stopped there as it was not the wisest idea to judge a person or to assume to know a person or to even begin to understand, especially if said person has not shared anything with you. Wilhelmina followed behind Christophe silently as Mathilde shouted out to them, urging them to hasten their pace.

Sighing softly to herself, _"This will indeed be a very long road, a very difficult one as well,"_ She watched as Mathilde lightly punched Christophe in the shoulder for lagging behind and though Christophe had not reacted to it, it was clear that Mathilde was trying to break that barrier of his down. If everyday could be this cheerful, with Mathilde around, surely that road would not be at all difficult, if one looked at it from a different perspective and share it with those around. Taking a deep breath, Wilhelmina lightly padded forward to catch up with them, coming to walk alongside them just as Mathilde decided she wanted to try making Christophe smile again...

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I am trying to pick up the pace, bear with me. I hope Mathilde here is as pleasing and the previous chapters although I am sorry to say that her appearances in the story will greatly decrease over time. I would like to have her around but her time is about to end... I am trying to make sure her character is impactful enough as a firm reminder to everyone as the story progresses and I hope that she will be as she has been to me...

Thank you for reading ~


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